Future of Africa firmly believes that the potential for positive change is a product of our collective efforts to act. ACT for Change is an initiative that enables participants to put their passion for the needs of humanity into meaningful action and work together toward making a difference.
ACT for Change reflects the necessity for us to become engaged members of a global community so that we are not only aware of and discussing the issues and challenges faced in Africa, but we are also taking an active role in improving existing circumstances and creating new opportunities.
Expose Your Toes
While working on Journey for Change projects in Arua, Northern Uganda, Future of Africa members counted 87 children walking barefoot in the span of just one hour. This is the reality for many children in African countries, and their inability to afford shoes symbolizes the barriers to education that they also face. Expose Your Toes is an ACT for Change campaign that seeks to raise awareness about underprivileged youth in Africa and work toward making an investment in these children’s education.
The Expose Your Toes campaign was inaugurated at Wilfrid Laurier University, where Future of Africa volunteers raised awareness by walking barefoot throughout the campus for an entire day. Under the adage “$1=1pair of shoes,” Future of Africa collected monetary donations to be directed toward buying shoes and slippers for underprivileged youth in Africa. FOA also invited Laurier students to donate used footwear, which would subsequently be sold for a small profit to provide greater funds for the shoe purchasing initiative.
Today, reflecting Future of Africa’s commitment to sustainability, Expose Your Toes has a slightly different focus. Although the campaign still seeks to raise awareness about the challenges faced by underprivileged children and youth, funds raised are now utilized to make a direct investment in the education of underprivileged youth. Future of Africa recognizes that children’s inability to afford shoes or slippers is only one symptom of a larger problem. By ensuring children and youth have consistent access to education, we invest in their future as a means of breaking the cycle of poverty.
